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Today, as we reflect on the 400 year history of racism, we are called to mourn and repent. As we go out from here, let us courageously share the good news. There is enough for all.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 13, year B
texts: Lamentations 3:22-33, Psalm 30, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43
Last Wednesday evening, there was an act of domestic terrorism driven by racism and white privilege at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people—Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, Tywanza Sanders, Myra Thompson, Ethel Lee Lance, Daniel L. Simmons, Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, and Susie Jackson—were shot to death by a young man who believed their lives had no value, and that their existence threatened his own, not because of anything that they had done, but because of the color of their skin.
Already today, the story about the horrific act itself has fallen a step back in the media. Already, we are beginning to return to “normal,” whatever that is. But for the sake of the nine people who died, their families, and our Black brothers and sisters, and for ourselves, we cannot go back to normal so quickly.
There are many ways we can distance ourselves from the shooting, lessen the horror, isolate it from our day-to-day lives. We can argue that this is the work of one crazy person, and not a sign of an ongoing pattern of systemic racism in our country. But there is a chilling parallel between the violence of last week, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four black girls in 1963. Both churches held central places in the effort to end segregation and bring justice for our black brothers and sisters. Both were places of worship, where by all rights people should feel a sense of safety and belonging. And in both places, people died violent deaths for no other reason than their blackness. That something so unthinkable in 1963 could happen again in 2015 should be enough to wake us up to the reality: what happened at Emanuel AME Church last week is not an isolated event, but the latest in a 400-year history of the violence, intimidation, and disenfranchisement that is systemic racism.
We can try to exonerate ourselves of this brokenness, but today we are called to see truth. The truth of the brokenness of the communities we live in, and the truth of our own complicity in this brokenness. I don’t think that any one of us here consciously believes, as Dylan did, that the lives of black people have no value. And there are those among us here is this sanctuary who have themselves experienced oppression on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, abilities. Today we are called to recognize that those of us who are white are all, whether consciously aware of it or not, bound in the web of sin that is systemic racism, white privilege, and we all benefit from it. As Lamentations says, we need to sit in silence, when the Lord has imposed it. We need to listen, and hear the truth.
We can say that we are not responsible for this act, that Dylan Roof was not one of us. The truth is that Dylan was raised and confirmed at St. Paul’s church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Charleston. His pastor, Reverend Tony Metze, and Reverend Clementa were colleagues, friends, who supported each other’s ministries. Dylan is, as Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton claimed in her letter of last week, one of our own. Today, we join other ELCA congregations throughout the country in honoring Bishop Eaton's call to mourn and repent.
I never worry, when my nephew goes to school, or to camp, or to soccer, that he might be beat up or blamed for a crime he did not commit because of the color of his skin. I am not routinely followed by store security when I shop. Virtually all of my teachers, church leaders, and other role models in my life have been white. Almost no one I know has been to prison. And I take all of this for granted, most of the time blissfully unaware that I am living a very different life from the majority of my black brothers and sisters. And although I hate to admit it and wish it weren’t the case, my automatic response when I pass a black man on the sidewalk who is not wearing what I think of as professional dress is fear or suspicion.
We who are white in this world are all bound, and pretending that we are not only strengthens the bonds of systemic racism, both for us and for our African American brothers and sisters. If there is ever a time for us to listen, to bear the yoke of God’s conviction for our participation in sin and oppression, this is it. If there is a time for us to put our faces to the ground and ask for God’s forgiveness, today is the day.
This, my brothers and sisters, is the truth. We are captive to sin, and cannot free ourselves, as we confessed at the beginning of our worship today. That is, in good old fashioned Lutheran terms, the law. The gospel comes in the words of forgiveness proclaimed to us this morning. We have sinned. God, in his compassion and faithfulness, has forgiven our sins. God’s grace is abundant! And we must not receive this incredible gift as a free pass to return to life as normal, to go back to life as we have always lived it. The realization of our brokenness, and the grace of forgiveness, should change us. But, how? What do we do now?
Paul speaks words to the Corinthians that I believe speak to us, too. Paul speaks to a people living in abundance and privilege, a people who, like us at Mount Olive, want to share that abundance. Paul is speaking to a people who, perhaps like those of us today who have privilege, seem to have gotten stuck or stalled somewhere along the way. It seems that all forms of oppression are based on fear, and on a fundamental sense that resources are limited, there is not enough for everyone, and that ultimately someone will have to go without. And our society seems to hardwire us to think of what we have as ours, and ours alone. If we are not defending it against people of another ethnicity, we will defend it against people of other religions, or nations, or sexual orientations. We go on the defensive, always defining an “us” and a “them,” and so long as this continues, the struggle will never end.
Over time, our well-being comes to depend on another person’s lack. Paul addresses this head on, and reminds the Corinthians of the Mannah provided for the Israelites in the desert, one measure for each person, neither too little, nor too much. Everyone gathered what they could, and everyone had what they needed. Paul encourages the Corinthians to see that their abundance is meant to meet another person’s need. And to trust that another person’s abundance will meet their needs.
Mark’s healing story today is a beautiful example of the abundance of our God. Jesus is called to heal the daughter of Jairus the synagogue leader, a person of privilege among his people, and Jesus is interrupted on his way. A woman who has been bleeding for 12 years, an outcast, sees Jesus, and in desperation and faith, reaches out and touches his cloak. She is healed, not only physically, but also emotionally and socially, as Jesus proclaims her whole, and calls her daughter. Then Jesus finds out that, because of this delay, he is too late to save Jairus’ daughter. Except, he is not too late. The abundance of God is enough for all, and the little girl is healed, raised from the dead. There is enough for all.
There is enough for all. There is room at God’s table for everyone. And out of this day of mourning and repentance, we can act to be a voice for change, a voice for justice.
Last week, African American theologian and minister Crystal St. Marie Lewis wrote: “I understand, my religious friends and colleagues, how desperately you desire to pray, given the tragic nature of last night’s events. However, I have run out of prayers and only desire to ask you: Will you instead talk face-to-face with someone about white supremacy and racism? Are you willing to start a conversation about what the world needs in order to move forward in peace? Is it possible that our prayers for God to somehow “fix” the world seem unheard because we don’t yet see ourselves as the answers to those prayers? And if so, how do we change our faulty perspective?”
What if we began to see our abundance, our privilege, as being for another person’s need? What if, instead of “us” and “them,” we all began to see ourselves as “we”? What if we were willing to take a stand against racism when we see it, at risk of disagreement or even anger? What if we were to commit ourselves to ensure that everyone, not just those like us, has a place at the table?
Today is a day of mourning and repentance, a day to recognize how we have participated and benefited from systems that oppress children of God simply because of the color of their skin. As we go out from here, let us courageously share the truth of our brokenness, and the grace of the good news. No one needs to go without. There is room at the table, for everyone. There is enough for all.
Accent on Worship
“Cantor”: What does this mean?
I was called to Mount Olive with the title “Cantor.” I’ve learned that we (Lutherans) have a particular understanding of that role which is not shared among all who use the term. A Jewish “Cantor” is one who act-ually sings. In current Roman Catholic practice, a “Cantor” stands in front of the assembly and sings and gestures, with the goal of inviting the assembly to join the singing. Verses may be sung by this person, with every-one joining for a refrain.
For us (and for me), “Cantor” is better defined as the steward of the congregation’s song. The Lutheran Cantor doesn’t sing for you, but facilitates (encourages/enables) and cares for the assembly’s song.
First, this involves decisions about what is sung. Those decisions have many contributing factors. Of course it means making sure we offer the best we can – discerning what is worth the time and effort to offer up to God in song or, over the long haul, what is worth adding to the communal memory bank. Another factor is ensuring that a sense of “we” remains important, so that we are not tempted to have the goal of satisfying individual’s subjective preferences - including those of Cantors themselves!
Then it is the Cantor’s task to be sure the assembly has what they need to sing the song, clearly knowing what it is they are to sing, and when they are to sing it. This means access to both text and music. It is inhospitable to provide words only as there are always folks in any given assembly who DO know how to read music and can do their part to help.
Any directions for unified singing and maintaining vitality are also the Cantor’s responsibilities. Tempo, when to breathe, and even “how” to sing a particular melody and text meaningfully can be encouraged by the Cantor. Gregorian chant with its mystical flow is quite different from Renaissance Chorale with its rhythmic dance! Some texts are full-bodied praise, others are muted prayer.
Most of these “unifications” occur with the help of the organ, sometimes the piano, choir, or even drums! This Cantor feels best, however, if these tools feel almost unnecessary –because it means the congregation has understood and is able to clearly and vibrantly sing. The singing is always the point. When that is going strong, the organ is free to bring out the text and its meaning.
As always, I pray for full-bodied singing every time we gather. It’s like nothing else and it is very hospitable to folks who aren’t used to singing in public. Do your part: sing out!
- Cantor David Cherwien
Sunday Readings
June 21, 2015: 4th Sunday after Pentecost, 12 B
Job 38:1-11
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
______________
June 28, 2015: 5th Sunday after Pentecost, 13 B
Lamentations 3:22-33
Psalm 30
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Mark 5:21-43
Quick Look: Our General Fund Giving
+28% = May giving, compared with May 2014
+9% = Year-to-date giving, compared with the same period in 2014
98% = Year-to-date expenses covered by gifts
122% = May expenses covered by May gifts
Yes, May was a very good month! Thanks for generous and faithful giving. Our challenge remains: to have that second percentage (here 9%) at or above 7% at the close of the year. Remember, we’ve often experienced a summer slump in giving. Regarding that 122% above note that Mount Olive’s general fund expenses can and do vary from month to month.
Credit for the above way of showing trends in our general fund giving goes to outgoing treasurer Kat Campbell-Johnson. She’s for some time provided this information on the first page of her detailed monthly treasurer’s reports, and it’s my sense that vestry members and other leaders have found it clear and helpful. Miss the dollar figures? Don’t worry. We’ll continue to provide them from time to time.
- Donn McLellan, director of Stewardship
Olive Branch Summer Publication
During the summer months of June, July, and August, The Olive Branch is published every other week. July issues will be published on July 1 and July 15.
If you have information to be published in the July 1 issue, please have that information to the church office by Monday, June 29.
Communion Ministers Needed!
Every week, parishioners bring the Eucharist to Mount Olive members who are unable to join us for liturgy.
Additional communion ministers are needed, especially for the summer months. If you are willing and able to bring communion to Mount Olive members in their homes, please contact Tom Graves and Ginny Agresti.
Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome!
For July 11 meeting, they will read, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, and for August 8 the collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris.
Mark your Calendars for Wednesday, August 5: Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you. This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
The next session meets on Wednesday, August 5 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth.
If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
Meet Our Missionary July 12
After church on Sunday, July 12, grab some coffee and a seat and spend some time getting to know Karen Anderson, our ELCA missionary to Chile. We support Karen through the ELCA and her community health work through our support of EPES/ Action for Health in the Americas. Karen had wanted to be with us when we celebrated the Taste of Chile a few years ago, but at that time her delay-ed flight kept her away.
Now is our chance to catch up with Karen, learn about her commitment to developing strong community health organizations that meet the real needs of the communities they serve, from strengthening prenatal health to helping rebuild after a community fire to campaigning to end smoking. And even more: Karen and her team are now reaching out to teach com-munity health techniques to community workers through-out Central and South America, and even to those working in Africa. Through our support of Karen we have real impact in improving health and lives in Chile. Save the date. Save the time. Join the conversation.
News From the Neighborhood
Come to the Neighborhood Garage Sale This Saturday!
The sale is this Saturday, June 20, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm in the parking lot. Come and see what treasures you might find! We have ten vendors signed up so come support our community and neighborhood.
If you would like to sell a few items at the sale, please mark the price along with some way to identify your goods (i.e. initials/name). Your “earnings” will be returned to you along with unsold items. If you choose to donate this money to Mount Olive, you can do so on your own, after the sale. We will follow the general plan that has been put in place for neighbors selling their goods for personal profit. Since this sale is an effort to get to know our neighbors, it seems we who are joining them by selling personal items should follow the same protocol so that it doesn’t have the appearance of being a fund-raiser.
Summer ACTS
Summer ACTS program begins on Monday, June 22, and runs Monday to Thursday for four weeks. Eighteen kids ages 9-14 are ready to come do jobs around the community and learn valuable life skills. Mentors (you!?) help build relationships and provide positive role models. Do you have a day or two between 10 am and 2 pm to come be a mentor or a kitchen crew member and help this program make an impact in the community? Call or email Anna Kingman, 612-827-5910 or neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org.
We will partner with organizations such as: Community Emergency Services, Stone's Throw Urban Garden, HandyWorks, Courageous heARTS, and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Extra Hands Needed at the Diaper Depot This Summer!
The Diaper Depot program runs Tuesdays (4:30-6:30) and Thursdays (1:30-3:30) each week. Dozens of families make their way to Mount Olive each week for this extra support. Please consider if you can help any day this summer - just 2 hours of greeting families and neighbors who need diapers! Orientation for volunteers will be offered on Tuesday, June 30, at 4:00 pm. Call Anna Kingman 612-827-5910 for more info and thank you.
The Bargain Box
Saturday, August 1 will be a busy day at Mount Olive as we help to get neighborhood children ready for the school year with the Bargain Box! We need donations of cash, new and gently used children’s clothes (no adult clothes, please), school supplies, and backpacks.
If you have time to help with the meal, or assist with clothing or school supplies distribution, please plan to come to the August Community Meals!
Church Library News
A special display in our church library includes specific books that are meant to help revise and upgrade our current Reference section. Before Pastor Crippen left for his sabbatical, he came to the library with two arm-loads of books (donated to our library by Robert Gotwalt) and he challenged us to find room for them in our already crowded Reference section, plus 3 or 4 in other related categories as well. The display will be available for about three Sundays, and then each item will be incorporated into our present shelving.
Nave’s Topical Bible, by Orville J. Nave, editor
Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers (Exploring Christian Faith), by Martin Marty
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians, by Robert Eisenman
Principles of Lutheran Theology, 2nd Edition, by Carl E. Braaten
A Compend of Lutheran Theology, by Hugh T. Kerr, editor
The Promise of Lutheran Ethics, by Karen Bloomquist and John R. Stumme, editors
The New International Dictionary of the Bible, (Pictorial Edition) by Merrill Tenney and J.D. Douglas, editors
Selected Writings of Martin Luther (1517-1522), by Theodore Tappert, editor
Also same (1520-1523)
Also same (1523-1526)
Also same (1529-1546)
Martin Luther, Selections from his Writings, by John Dillenberger, editor
Luther’s Spirituality, by Philip and Peter Krey, editors
Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, 2nd edition, w/CD by Timothy Lull, editor
The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, Volume 1, by Nicholas Lenker, editor
Also same, Volumes 2, 3, and 4
The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, Volume 5, by Eugene and F.A. Klug, editors
Also same, Volumes 6 and 7
The Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton
Last September I wrote about a "Floating Library," built on an 8' square raft and holding approximately 80 unusual book titles, that would appear on Cedar Lake during the weekends during the month of August. This unusual library is the brain-child of Sarah Peters, a teacher at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Watch for this special library again this August (weather permitting), and be one of those privileged to check out a book or two from a different kind of library!
- Leanna Kloempken
Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival
Again this year, Mount Olive will be one of the area churches who will staff an information booth at the Twin Cites Gay Pride Festival, June 27-28, 2015.
Would you be interested in staffing a one or two hour shift at the booth? If you can help, call Andrew Andersen at 763-607-1689 or the church office at 612-827-5919. Times are open: Saturday 10–6, and Sunday 12-6. If you would be willing to share information about Mount Olive with folks who stop by the booth, please call.
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Conference
July 31-Aug 2, 2015 - Augsburg College, Minneapolis
Mount Olive has been a long standing RIC congregation and we have been exemplary in our welcome of the LGBT community. At the end of July we have an opportunity to show our support and commitment to the RIC program and to be a voice to the many other congregations in the ELCA who have not become RIC congregations.
The National Reconciling Works Assembly and RIC conference is being held at Augsburg College July 31-August 2. I want to encourage any member of Mount Olive who would like to attend the entire conference to go to the www.reconcilingworks.org website and get information and register for the conference. If you cannot attend the entire conference I would like Mount Olive to have a delegation at the July 31 gala (Friday night) for the Assembly. Tickets are $40 and it would be great if we are represented at the gala. There will be a dinner and silent auction. If you or you and your spouse would like to attend the gala please call or email me so I can get you on the list. (Paul Nixdorf - 612-296-0055; pn@paulnixdorf.com )
Second! I am chair of the Twin Cities ReconcilingWorks board for the two ELCA synods and we have been asked to gather items for the silent auction. We are asking each RIC congregation to assemble a set of items to be placed in the silent auction at the gala. If you have ideas or know of items from Mount Olive that we can put together for the silent auction please call me.
I hope you will consider coming to the gala on July 31, and also please help me with Mount Olive’s Auction Items.
- Paul Nixdorf – Chair, Twin Cities Reconciling Works Board
Accent on Worship
Nothing Ordinary about “Ordinary Time!”
We have just finished the first half of the Church Year, some-times called the Festival half or our Lord’s half. It runs from Advent to Pentecost and keeps us focused on God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ.
Now, with the Ascension of our Lord and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we turn our attention to the life of the Church. No more great festivals, bombastic worship, or striking symbols. Instead, we settle into “green worship,” marked by a subdued liturgy, a simplified style, and a more modest agenda. We count these Sundays by noting their numerical place “after Pentecost.”
This second half of the church year is often called “ordinary time;” but not because it is in any way bland or mundane. It comes from the Latin ordinal and means something counted in a
sequence. So we count the Sundays after Pentecost in sequence.
This is a time when we hear about our Lord’s teaching, his miracles, and his parables. We struggle to apply what we hear to our Christian lives so that we can grow in sanctification, or become “greener.” As the psalmist pleads, “Teach us all to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
This numbering should be a salutary time for us—not just one darn thing after another! Time that marks our mundane existence we call “chronological,” from the Greek word chronos. So, we waste time, kill time, save time, etc. The Church also knows a different time; time that is marked not by a clock, but by the significance of an event. For that time, the church borrows a different Greek word, kairos. As we head into this ordinary season, I trust that we will know many more kairotic moments, filled with grace and truth.
- Interim Pastor Robert A. Hausman
Summer Worship
Holy Eucharist is celebrated each summer Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Readings
June 7, 2015: 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 10 B
Genesis 3:8-15
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Mark 3:20-35
______________
June 14, 2015: 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 11 B
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
2 Corinthians 5:6-17
Mark 4:26-34
BACH TAGE: This Weekend!
Bach Tage is this Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and June 7. Two public concerts are a featured part of Bach Tage – invite your friends!
• Saturday, June 6, 4:00 pm: Music of Johann Sebastian Bach presented by the Bach Tage soloists and orchestra
Cantata BWV 196, Der Herr denket an uns, by the Bach Tage soloists and orchestra; Concerto for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060R, with soloists Marc Levine and Stanley King; and Prelude and Fugue in c minor for organ, by Cantor David Cherwien.
• Sunday, June 7, 4:00 pm: Service of Evening Prayer with Cantata BWV 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, and Buxtehude’s Befiehl dem Engel dass er komm will be performed by the participants in the weekend conference, with soloists and orchestra. Kathy Romey of the University of Minnesota is our guest conductor for the weekend, with Cantor David Cherwien, organist.
There will be great music at both programs. Tell others – and don’t miss it!
Honoring the Graduates
Next Sunday, June 14, we will honor our graduates at a reception following the 9:30 a.m. liturgy.
Those in our midst that are graduating from high school, college, and graduate school include:
• Kaiya Ruff
• Maddie Nelson
• Peter Crippen
• Mikkel Sawyer
• Erika Thurston
• Jacob Ruff
• Micah Marty
• Steve Lenius
• Elsa Marty
Plan to stay a few minutes following the morning liturgy for a light reception and to greet and congratulate the graduates!
Communion Ministers Needed!
Every week, parishioners bring the Eucharist to Mount Olive members who are unable to join us for liturgy.
Additional communion ministers are needed, especially for the summer months. If you are willing and able to bring communion to Mount Olive members in their homes, please contact Tom Graves and Ginny Agresti.
Neighborhood Garage Sale: Saturday, June 20, 9am to 3pm
This is a great opportunity for you to step into the journey of Being the Presence of God in this neighborhood. Please join in this activity and connect hearts, break barriers and spend some fun time in your church neighborhood.
Actions you can take to participate:
• Be a vendor! Find some items you no longer need and reserve a parking space size spot in our church parking lot to sell your goods and have fun with neighbors. Collaborate with others or call Anna for options if you're interested.
• Be a volunteer! Take a shift from 8:00am - Noon or Noon - 4:00pm to host and help. Welcome the vendors, put up signs, and be available and visible. We open our sanctuary doors to welcome any who want to see who we are and what is going on inside as well.
• Be a promoter and spread the word! And then come shop!
Questions? Contact any Open Space team member to join in or for further information: Tim Pipkorn, George Ferguson, Connie Marty, Julie Manuel, Carol Austermann, Paul Nixdorf, Patsy Holtmeier, and Anna Kingman.
Thanks be to God for our life together!
The Bargain Box
Saturday, August 1 will be a busy day at Mount Olive! We will be helping to get neighbor-hood children ready for school year with Bargain Box fitting children with new school clothes and distributing school supplies during the Community Meal.
We are looking for donations of cash, new and gently used children’s clothes (no adult clothes, please), school supplies, and backpacks.
If you have time to help with the meal, or assist with clothing or school supplies, please plan to come to the August Community Meals!
- Neighborhood Ministries Committee
Olive Branch Summer Publication
During the summer months of June, July, and August, The Olive Branch is published every other week. June issues will be published on June 4 and June 17.
If you have information to be published in the June 17 issue, please have that information to the church office by Monday, June 15.
Our Saviour’s Housing: Building Home
Next Sunday, June 14, Our Saviour’s Housing will host a block party to benefit the homeless – and all are invited! Tour the newly refurbished emergency shelter and enjoy a backyard cookout for $5/plate. This event will feature a live concern with folk-blues musician Charlie Parr.
Celebrate summer, meet your neighbors and learn more about our local homeless shelter.
No tickets or RSVP needed. Come and go as you please. Activities will happen between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm. For more information, visit their website at
www.oscs-mn.org/buildinghome.
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
Profiles:
I had a young woman in recently who was struggling with an electric bill. Her lights had been shut off for 15 days and she was exasperated by the process and the monumental cost of getting them back on. Sixty days ago she became unemployed, and this was so foreign to her as she had worked since she was 11 years old and had never needed assistance like this before. Everything had always gotten paid for and the extras she used for her son. Now it was a desperate situation with only closed doors and no options. As she said, it’s made her thank God for what she had and helped her realize how easy it is to sit in a position above people and judge. She now sees how terribly difficult it is to need help.
I was really humbled today by her sharing this good reminder that we are all just sheep in the field of the Shepherd – no better or worse than the other, just together and under the mercy of our caretaker. It caused me to examine my heart to any stores of feeling any more or less privileged, blessed, superior or inferior than any of my sisters and brothers. Please take a moment in your day and examine your heart, your head, and your tongue for any ways that we may judge or shame people whose stories we do not know, and how instead we can boast love, encouragement, and care for ourselves and for our neighbor.
Coming Up: Summer ACTS:
Summer ACTS will take place for 4 weeks, June 22– July 16, from 10am-2pm Monday–Thursday. Kids ages 9-14 will learn about service and responsibility by holding a summer job while participating in fun, meaningful projects. WE NEED MENTORS to work and play alongside them. Please consider if this is an option for you and your family to be involved for 2 days during 1 or all of the weeks! Sign up at church. Questions? Ask Anna Kingman 612-827-5910 or Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org.
June 22-25: Summer ACTS Orientation and Baking Skills with Cynthia at Mount Olive
June 29-July 2: Food Packing at CES and gardening at Stone’s Throw Urban Garden
July 6-9: Helping our neighbors with HandyWorks and TBD activity
July 13-16: Nutrition & Cooking skills at Mount Olive, and Personal Art with Courageous heArts
Upcoming Grant-Writing Workshop Opportunity!
Mount Olive is hosting a 2-day grant writing workshop held by Grant Central USA on July 16 – 17, from 9am-4pm. For hosting, we are given two free spots at this event. Are you interested in attending this free workshop? Whether professional, personal, non-profit, or fun, please let Anna know ASAP if you'd like to attend. For more information, visit: http://www.grantwritingclasses.org/gallery.html or contact Anna at church or neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org.
Needed!
Neighborhood Ministries is currently in need of two things:
• Paper grocery bags with handles (these may be left in the donation area of the coat room)
• 10x10 pop-up canopies to borrow for the Neighborhood Garage Sale on June 20 in our parking lot.
Food and Personal Items Needed!
Now that school is out for the summer, many children who receive free or reduced-price lunches at school will often go hungry. Please keep up or increase your monetary and food contributions during the summer months. You may use your blue envelopes and designate "food shelf" as the recipient. Food contributions may be placed in the shopping cart in the coat room.
In our summer travels, let's remember that the complimentary toiletries provided by hotels and motels are ideal for homeless people who have little space for such items. Most of the time, we are charged for these items as a part of the payment for accommodations. Please bring your unused toiletries to the designated basket in the coat room.
Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome!
For the June 13 meeting, the Book Discussion group will read The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and for July 11, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
CoAM Day Tour: St. Croix River and Stillwater
All are invited to ride the stern-wheeler “Showboat” on the St. Croix and enjoy a buffet lunch before taking a trolley tour of Stillwater with Cooperative Adult Ministries.
The tour will take place on Friday, July 17. A bus leaves from Bethel Lutheran (4120 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis) at 10:15 a.m. Cost for this event is $57/person.
Interested in joining them? Call the CoAM office at 612-721-5786 and leave a message to reserve your space, or send an email to trustinc@visi.com.
Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival
Again this year, Mount Olive will be one of the area churches who will staff an information booth at the Twin Cites Gay Pride Festival, June 27-28, 2015.
Would you be interested in staffing a one or two hour shift at the booth? If you can help, call Andrew Andersen at 763-607-1689 or the church office at 612-827-5919. Times are open: Saturday 10 – 6, and Sunday 12 - 6. If you would be willing to share information about Mount Olive with folks who stop by the booth, please call.
For centuries, Christians have been wrestling with the idea of the Trinity, but in the end we have a God who cannot be contained.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Holy Trinity, year B
texts: Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17
The love and joy of the Triune God be with you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today being Trinity Sunday, I should stand before you and eloquently explain the doctrine of the Trinity, perhaps even using a three-leafed clover metaphor, as St. Patrick did centuries ago. On the surface, the idea of the Trinity seems pretty straightforward—three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God. Simple enough, right?
The reality is that battles have been fought, and people have died, because of differences in understanding this core element of our faith. There are many heresies defined by particular ways of describing the Trinity, and the eastern and western churches are still divided in part by nuances in this doctrine. And yet the Trinity stands, and we confess it here at Mount Olive each week in the creeds. “We believe in one God, the Father the Almighty . . . . We believe in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord . . . . We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life . . . .”
I am sure you will be relieved to hear that I will not attempt today to sort out the two millennia of conversations, and arguments, and councils that have wrestled with the question of the Trinity. Far more important for us here today, I believe, is what does the Trinity mean for us? Why does it matter?
Although the word “trinity” never appears in scriptures, the images in our readings for today reveal a lot about the Triune God. In Isaiah and the psalm, we hear about God called Lord, seated on a throne, surrounded by seraphs singing “Holy, holy, holy!” Isaiah is surrounded by the majesty of God, and feels completely inadequate. This is God, Lord of the Universe, deserving of glory, before whom none of us, truth be told, are quite ready to stand. The full majesty of God makes us quake in our boots, at least a little bit.
The power of God revealed in waves crashing on the ocean, in the flashes and crashes of powerful storms, in the silent formidable presence of enormous trees centuries old. God’s majesty surrounds us, overwhelms us, and although it touches us, we can’t quite bear to touch it. It is no wonder that Isaiah’s first response is, “Woe is me! I am unclean, and yet I have seen the Lord!” And it is a miracle of grace that prepares Isaiah, so that he cries “Here am I. Send me!” And God invites not just Isaiah, but us, you and me, to go out for him, to witness to his glory!
Jesus tells Nicodemus about God-in-flesh, God who comes to us in human form so that we can have life, be saved. God loves us enough to give us God’s very self, to be in relationship with us, on our terms. And in that relationship, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, our brokenness is redeemed, and our joy is made complete.
God enters fully into our suffering, as well as our joy. God-in-flesh embraces our grief at the death of a loved one, and shows us through the resurrection that death will not be the final word. God enters our joy at the birth of a child, revels with us in the beauty of creation. God sits with us, eats with us, laughs with us, cries with us. Because God revealed Godself to us in Jesus, we know that God is not only majesty and splendor and power, but intimately involved in our everyday life. Because God became fully human, we know we are never alone. We have a God who understands what it is to be human!
The Spirit is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the Trinity for us to understand. It’s like trying to capture . . . well, the wind! “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” The Spirit empowers us to recognize who we are as children of God, and it is only through the Spirit that we call God Abba, Father. The Spirit in breath brings life to dry bones in the desert, anoints and calls the apostles in fire at Pentecost, calls Jews and Gentiles alike to baptism in the days of the early church. “The wind blows where it chooses . . .”
Revealed in the Trinity, our God is all these things for us—majesty and power, a fellow traveler intimately acquainted with our human experience, one who tells us who we are and empowers us to witness to the world. There are three persons in our one God. And when these persons come together in the one God, something happens that goes far beyond division of labor, each person filling their appointed role. It cannot be adequately captured in any one metaphor, although I am sure you can imagine that doesn’t stop me from trying!
In Quest for the Living God, Catholic feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson describes the Trinity as three persons in a dance that never ends. “The three circling around in a mutual dynamic movement of love, God is not a static being, but a plentitude of self-giving love, a saving mystery that overflows into the world of sin and death to heal, redeem, and liberate.”
Johnson presents an image of God in relationship with Godself, equal, fully grounded in love. This is the motivation for creation—God did not create the world to follow law or to do God’s will, but to be in loving relationship with God and the rest of creation. And the Triune God is a God of constant movement, changing, circling, over-flowing. As hard as we may try to neatly define the persons in the Trinity and understand it, God will not be contained.
Paul tells us that we have been given a Spirit of adoption. We are not slaves, but adopted as children of God. The Triune God who is constantly creating, moving, loving, healing, inspiring, transforming. We have been adopted not just as children of God the Father, and not just as brother of Jesus, but adopted into this creative, moving, loving, healing, inspiring, transforming Trinity. We are adopted into the love that overflows into our broken world.
Jesus tells Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses . . . and so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” We are adopted into the Trinity, and we are called to follow the Spirit where it chooses. Not to understand, not to define, certainly not to limit—for ours is a God who will not be so easily contained. We are children of the Triune God, and we follow the wind.
Thanks be to God.
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2007), 213-214.
Accent on Worship
My birth story is my favorite story to tell. You may have heard it already, but it’s got a surprise part that I love. It’s the part where, despite ultra sounds and medical knowledge, my parents did not know that they were having two babies instead of just one. Surprise! After my twin sister Amy squirmed her way out into the light of the world, no one was anticipating that there was another baby waiting in the wings, umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, pressing for light and air. Alas, with many exclamations of disbelief greeting me, I made my grand entrance. I’d like to consider it a blessing, although I imagine for my parents it was more of a shock.
My twin sister and I share a type of bond that only other twins can know. It’s one of separation and sameness alike. It’s another person who is so similar to you in experience, there from the literal beginning, and sharing in the lifeblood that makes a human a human. We have the same face, the same mannerisms, and dispute certain memories we both share.
This experience as a twin gives me even the smallest sense of what it means to be one, but three. To be whole, separate, complete, but to be a part, a moving piece with no boundaries or borders between the others. This Sunday we acknowledge the triune God, that there is community within God – not outside, but reflecting from within. One of the most grounding phrases for me right now is “in you we live and move and have our being.” It eliminates any separation between us and the God the flows within, before, beyond, and forever around us. This is an encouragement to me on the days when I feel like I’ve let things fall away, or I’m holding back out of worldly fears, or just laziness- the matter that I the triune God in all the ways that the Spirit moves in the world, despite my efforts or lack thereof.
Far from understanding all of the intricacies of the triune God, I will lean in to my understanding of being a twin – of sharing in the special relationship that we have as a guide to how we all, as sisters and brothers under one God the Father live, move, and have our being together in this world.
- Anna Kingman
Sunday Readings
May 31, 2015: The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
______________
June 7, 2015: 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 10 B
Genesis 3:8-15
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Mark 3:20-35
Sunday’s Adult Forum: May 31, 11 a.m.
Lora Dundek and Larry Duncan will share high- lights from the recent Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly.
Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome!
For the June 13 meeting, the Book Discussion group will read The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and for July 11, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
Calling All Graduates!
On Sunday, June 14, we will honor our graduates at a reception following the 9:30 a.m. liturgy.
If you are graduating from high school, college, seminary, or another post-secondary school, or if you know of some-one else from Mount Olive who is graduating this spring, please take a moment to notify the church office. We want to be sure that all of our graduates are invited!
Personal-sized Toiletries Needed!
During your summer travels, save the personal-sized toiletries provided by hotels. We are collecting them for distribution to the homeless who stay at Our Saviour’s Shelter. Place them in the designated basket in the coat room.
That Campaign? We’re Still Giving
The “asking” phase of last year’s campaign to restore funds borrowed from Mount Olive’s restricted funds and to create a reserve fund to see us through future general-fund shortfalls ended some months ago, but we continue to receive gifts—and they’re welcome and needed.
Paid gifts now stand at $107,578, and outstanding pledges total $10,600. (It should be noted that close to half the dollars received to date come from households that did not turn in pledge cards!)
What should your priority be if you have outstanding pledges to the campaign and to this year’s general fund and find it difficult to give to both just now? Give to the general fund, from which we pay the congregations ongoing expenses.
To check the status of your campaign pledge or to adjust it, phone or email Cha at the church office.
If you’ve forgotten the exact purpose of the campaign, here’s a quick recap. We’ve repaid what the congregation borrowed from its restricted funds in lean times several years ago, and now have formally made those funds unavailable for future borrowing. We’ve established a reserve fund, now about $26,000, from which we could borrow before needing to turn to more costly short-term loans at the bank. The reserve fund will be minimal—but still important—even if all pledges are fulfilled.
- Donn McLellan, Director of Stewardship
YOUR Neighborhood Garage Sale: June 20, 9am to 3pm
This is a great opportunity for you to step into the journey of BEING THE PRESENCE OF GOD in this neighborhood. Please join in this activity and connect hearts, break barriers and spend some fun time in your church neighborhood.
Actions you can take to participate:
• Be a vendor!
Find some items you no longer need and reserve a parking space size spot in our church parking lot to sell your goods and have fun with neighbors. We will call you a vendor for the day. Our youth will be selling food and drink to raise funds for their mission. Bring your own table.
• Be a volunteer!
Take a shift from 8:00am - Noon or Noon - 4:00pm to assist with set up and hosting for the day. We will welcome the vendors, put up signs to encourage neighbors to stop by and shop and just be available and visible. We open our sanctuary doors to welcome any who want to take a peek inside these walls and see who is here and what is going on. We will also offer restrooms to the vendors.
• Be a promoter and spread the word!
Take an assignment to walk the neighborhood and deliver flyers door to doors and/or post flyers in businesses so people know what Mount Olive is doing on June 20.
Questions? Contact any Open Space team member to join in or for further information: Tim Pipkorn, George Ferguson, Connie Marty, Julie Manuel, Carol Austermann, Paul Nixdorf, Patsy Holtmeier, and Anna Kingman.
Thanks be to God for our life together!
Help Earthquake Victims
From your Global Missions Committee--Our ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response is working with the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran World Relief on large scale disaster response in Nepal. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please mark either a blue envelope contribution or a donation check ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response and our collected contributions will be forwarded to this important work.
Communion Ministers Needed!
Every week, parishioners bring the Eucharist to Mount Olive members who are unable to join us for liturgy. Additional communion ministers are needed, especially for the summer months. If you are willing and able to bring communion to Mount Olive members in their homes, please contact Tom Graves and Ginny Agresti.
The Ninth Annual BACH TAGE
Bach Tage is Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and June 7. Two public concerts are a featured part of Bach Tage – invite your friends!:
• Saturday, June 6, 4:00 pm: Music of Johann Sebastian Bach presented by the Bach Tage soloists and orchestra
Cantata BWV 196, Der Herr denket an uns, by the Bach Tage soloists and orchestra; Concerto for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060R, with soloists Marc Levine and Stanley King; and Prelude and Fugue in c minor for organ, by Cantor David Cherwien.
• Sunday, June 7, 4:00 pm: Service of Evening Prayer with Cantata BWV 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, and Buxtehude’s Befiehl dem Engel dass er komm will be performed by the participants in the weekend conference, with soloists and orchestra. Kathy Romey of the University of Minnesota is our guest conductor for the weekend, with Cantor David Cherwien, organist.
Great music at both programs. Tell others, and don’t miss!!
May 31 Adult Forum
On May 31, there will be an opportunity to hear what the Minneapolis Area Synod did during the Synod Assembly a couple of weeks ago. The Assembly theme was "The Word Was Made Flesh and Moved into the Neighborhood."
The Mount Olive representatives to the Assembly were Lora Dundek and Larry Duncan, and they will present a few observations on the gathering. Meet in the Chapel Lounge following the liturgy, and after you get your coffee, of course!
The Bargain Box
Saturday, August 1 will be a busy day at Mount Olive! We will be helping to get neighborhood children ready for school year with Bargain Box fitting children with new school clothes and distributing school supplies during the Community Meal.
We are looking for donations of cash, new and gently used children’s clothes (no adult clothes, please), school supplies, and backpacks.
If you have time to help with the meal, or assist with clothing or school supplies, please plan to come to the August Community Meals!
- Neighborhood Ministries Committee
Olive Branch Summer Publication
During the summer months of June, July, and August, The Olive Branch is published every other week. June issues will be published on June 4 and June 17. If you have information to be published in these newsletters, please have that information to the church office by Monday, June 1, and Monday, June 15, respectively.
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
Coming Soon! Summer A.C.T.S. (Adults, Children Teaming to Serve)
This is going to be fun! Neighborhood Ministries Summer Program this year is an opportunity for adults and youth from the congregation and community to work together on “jobs” with meaning and purpose while building relationships and learning from each other. The program will run four half-days a week for four weeks from June 22 through July 16 (10:00 AM to 2:00 PM including a light lunch). Youth ages 9 to 14 can work for four weeks, two half-days a week on either Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays, and earn $30/week. Adults can volunteer to work on a team with youth for any length of time – whatever fits into your schedule. Each week we will focus on a different community project and skill building. The program will culminate on July 17 with a celebration! Job sites include: food packing at CES, Artwork at Courageous heARTS, cooking/baking skills at Mount Olive, Urban gardening, etc!
Do you have a child, grandchild or friend who would like to work this summer, earn a little cash, and learn about service at the same time? Would you like to take two half days off work and be a part of the action? Are you available this summer and looking for a way to serve as a mentor, helper, or kitchen worker extraordinaire? WE NEED YOU!
For applications for participants, sheets are located outside the main office or from Anna
If you are interested in any way, please contact Anna Kingman Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at 612-827-5919, neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org, or just talk to her on Sunday.
Upcoming Grant-Writing Workshop Opportunity!
Mount Olive is hosting a 2-day grant writing workshop held by Grant Central USA on July 16 – 17, from 9am-4pm. For hosting, we are given two free spots at this event. Are you interested in attending this free workshop? Whether professional, personal, non-profit, or fun, please let Anna know ASAP if you'd like to attend. For more information, visit: http://www.grantwritingclasses.org/gallery.html or contact Anna at church or neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org.
Spanish phrase:
Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience. As we explore our community and get to know our neighbors, let's continue with some helpful language lessons.
English: “We are a part of Mount Olive Church”
Spanish: ”Somos parte de la Iglesia Mount Olive” (Sow-mohs par-tay day lah Eeg-lay-see-ah Mount Olive)
Review: ‘Where is your family from?”’ Spanish:”De donde es su familia?” (Day-dohn-day es sue fah-meel-ee-ah)
Go out and be fearlessly friendly folks!
Needed!
Neighborhood Ministries is currently in need of two things:
• Paper grocery bags with handles (these may be left in the donation area of the coat room)
• 10x10 pop-up canopies to borrow for the Neighbor-hood Garage Sale on June 20 in our parking lot.
Keep Heroin out of Hennepin County!
Learn, share, and support the Keep Heroin Out of Hennepin County Town Hall. This meeting will take place on Thursday, May 28 (tomorrow!), from 7:00- 8:30 pm at the Church of Gitchitwaa Kateri (3045 Park Ave.) right down the street. Heroin, Opiates, and Meth are a problem everywhere, so let’s support the efforts to stamp them out.
When Jesus ascended, the disciples stood gazing at the heavens in wonder. A man asked them why they were looking at the heavens. Our work is before us, not above us. Jesus came to show us how to live, to be his hands and feet in the world.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Ascension of Our Lord
texts: Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53
The peace of the risen Christ be with you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What a time, Jesus’ friends were having! They had lived and traveled and worked and eaten with Jesus for several years, before he was taken from them and hung on the cross to die. And then, Jesus rose from the dead and came back to them, just when they had given up hope. The disciples are not sure what is going to happen, as Jesus is preparing to leave again. They had seen him several times over the 40 days since Easter, since the day Jesus rose from the dead. And now he is leaving for good. Jesus didn’t overthrow Rome before he died, and the disciples wonder and ask if maybe now he is finally going to restore justice to their world. The disciples still don’t seem to fully understand what Jesus has been doing, all this time.
Jesus responds to their question by telling them that God’s timing is not for them to know, but THEY will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes. He tells the disciples to wait until they have received the Holy Spirit, and then go and share the good news with the world. Jesus did not come so that HE could set things right. Jesus came, and died, and rose again, so that WE might live as Jesus did, so that WE might be empowered to do justice and mercy in this world.
And after Jesus has ascended, the disciples are still sorting through everything that has happened, all that Jesus has told them, as they stare at the place in the air where they last saw Jesus before he disappeared from view. And as they stand there, they get another message about their mission. “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Jesus has gone, and he is coming again, but the real news lies before the disciples, not above them.
The real news for us, too, lies before us, not above us. The promise is there, and we live in hope, knowing Jesus will come again. We know what Jesus did and said while he was here. Our mission is to live as he did, actively, with love, engaged in what is happening in the world in front of us. Our mission is to understand and live knowing that Jesus is all around us!
We are called to look for Jesus among our neighbors. We are called to see Jesus in the man who comes to Mount Olive asking for a laundry voucher. We meet Jesus in the fellow community member learning of a cancer diagnosis. Jesus is among the people of Nepal living in grief for those they have already lost to earthquakes, and living in terror that more will die. We don’t look up to find Jesus, we hear Jesus in the person on the other end of the phone at the pharmacy when we call to renew prescriptions, we see Jesus in the mail carrier delivering our mail. Jesus comes to us every day in our co-workers and classmates, our spouses, our children.
Like the disciples, we can easily forget this simple truth: we find Jesus in everyone we meet, and we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, working for justice, caring for those around us. Fortunately, like the disciples, when we forget, we are reminded. “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” And the Holy Spirit inspires and empowers us to do what Jesus is calling us to do: go, share the good news. Jesus is alive. Jesus is coming again. And in the meantime, we have work to do, seeking Jesus in the world, doing the work of Jesus in this world.
Today, we stand with the disciples, saying goodbye once again to Jesus-in-flesh-and-blood, re-focusing on what Jesus has taught us, and what we are called to do. On this feast, it is tempting to look at the place we last saw Jesus, rising to God. It is tempting to ask ourselves and each other, when is Jesus coming again? Where, and how? Is this the time when God will finally heal the wrongs of this world? Together with the disciples, we get our answer: “It is not for us to know the day or hour. Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
Because Jesus died and rose, we won’t ever be alone, even though we will not physically see him anymore. Today, we anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, knowing that through the power of the Spirit Jesus will be with us wherever we go, empowering us to do his work in this world. We can, with the disciples, be joyful and expectant, knowing Jesus will come again. And like the disciples, we are sent out from here to carry on the work of Jesus wherever we are.
Jesus’ Ascension is not the end of his work in the world. It is just the beginning. Jesus’ life, teaching, preaching, healing was all to prepare us. Jesus has shown and told us what we are to do, after his Ascension. Have we been listening? Are we looking ahead of us, or are we still looking to the sky? Listen to the voices saying, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” Jesus is coming again, we don’t know when and where and how. In the meantime, let us go out and carry on the work he has given us to do.
Amen.
We abide in God’s love, and Jesus promised that his joy would be in us and our joy would be complete. We are called to practice joy, and share it with the world.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Sixth Sunday of Easter, year B
texts: Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17
Joy and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
For Christmas last year, we gave my 2-year old nephew a drum. And not just any drum. We found a lollipop drum, with a long narrow handle and rainbow colored swirls covering the metal surface, complete with a drum stick with a ball at the tip. He opened it and laid the drum on the floor and began to hit it with the stick. The sound was somewhat flat with the drum laying on the floor, so I picked up the drum by the handle and held it for him, and he struck it a couple more times, producing a very satisfying—and LOUD—bang that echoed through the house. I watched his face, and in a flash, there it was—pure joy. Eyes sparkling under his curly mop of hair, mouth wide open with all his teeth showing, giggling as he eagerly took the drum from me and marched around the room as he continued to play it.
My nephew’s unbridled joy didn’t come from achieving anything. His joy wasn’t the result of a carefully crafted plan that went something like, “I would be really, really happy if only . . . .” It didn’t come from our approval—he didn’t need an audience, although he certainly had one! The joy my nephew felt simply bubbled up in him as he reveled in wonder and amazement at the sound he could create by hitting the drum with the stick. And his joy overflowed, filling me with joy as I watched him!
What brings you joy? What does the face of joy look like to you?
Jesus says his joy will be in us, that our joy may be complete. Joy, true joy, comes from God, not from external circumstances. It might be thought of as “grace recognized,” the knowledge of God’s love and care for us. And all of this, Jesus tells us, comes out of knowing we are chosen, abiding in God’s love.
I have been watching my garden beds hopefully, since the snow melted, waiting to see if the Japanese Lilac tree we planted last spring would bloom again. To see if the hosta we planted in the summer would come back this year. And sure enough, our tree is covered in buds waiting to burst into leaves, and even the slowest-growing hosta has poked little fleshy spikes of green above the soil.
And the miracle of it, to me, is that I didn’t have to do anything to make that happen. Thank goodness! And neither, really, did the tree, or the hosta. The tree and hosta simply abided in the water and soil that surrounded and fed them, and they grew. They abided in the sun and warmth, and what looked like dead branches and lifeless dirt have been transformed into new life before our eyes.
As we have heard over and over the last few weeks in the Gospel of John, we, each one of us, abide forever in God’s love. We abide in God’s love, and just like the tree and hosta, we are transformed. We are not slaves any longer, Jesus tells us. And we did not have to do anything to make that happen. We have been chosen. Jesus calls us his friends, his joy is in us, and we are appointed to bear the fruit of joy in the world.
Joy is an emotion, one that often takes us by surprise. It is not within our control, and we don’t always feel it. Joy is also a choice, a spiritual discipline, if you will. We can practice joy by listening to God say to us, in the midst of fear, “Be not afraid, I am with you.” God loves us, and in Jesus God laid down his life for us. Just think about that for a moment. Jesus laid down his life for you. Because Jesus died, we can live. Because Jesus died, and rose, we need never be afraid, because we can face even our own death knowing the promise of the resurrection. Each one of us abides in God’s love, a love so deep that death itself has been banished, forever.
We can practice the discipline of joy by seeking evidence of God’s presence in each moment, seeking evidence that Christ is alive, as Mary and Thomas did. In doing this, we consciously abide in the extravagant love of God in each moment as it comes. We meet God in the present. Children, like my nephew, seem to know this instinctively, finding wonder in things that we adults often overlook. You children can teach us adults a lot about joy!
Jesus tells us to love one another—“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” As Jesus’ friends, we are called to love one another, as God loves us. We are to lay down our lives for each other, to love each other with everything that we are, and that too, is joy.
Just like my nephew’s infectious grin and giggle, joy is contagious, and it grows as it is shared. We as a community are called not just to practice joy ourselves, but to go and tell others. In our baptisms, we celebrate the Spirit of God that pours over everyone, without distinction, lavishing us with gifts meant to be shared with the world. And the greatest gift is the joy of the hope we have in Jesus.
Our joy doesn’t come from achievement or success. It isn’t the result of a carefully crafted plan that sounds something like, “I would be really, really happy if only . . . .” It doesn’t come from the approval of others. Joy comes from simply being in the presence of God who loves us abundantly. We are transformed by God’s love in Jesus into people of the resurrection, knowing that whatever happens in our lives, God is with us, God loves us, and the best is yet to come. And because of that, we can be the presence of God’s love and joy for others. The joy of Jesus is in us, and our joy is complete.
Thanks be to God!
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